Archives for June 2011

Summer time means vacation time. My family and I just got back from a week-long vacation to the beach. Since we drove with our little ones, I had to be prepared for the inevitable snacking along the way. Drive thrus and convenience stores maybe easier options, but I wanted to make sure we got some healthier options from the grocery store beforehand that aren’t too messy. Here is my list of things you might want to think about packing. I will include some Gluten Free options as well. What are your favorite healthy road trip snacks?

Happy Fruit and Veggies Month! To celebrate, I wanted to share my new and delicious recipe for strawberries and blueberries. Impress your friends and family with this super simple recipe that is great for get togethers. This recipe can also be used for the leftovers. The leftover berries can be used for breakfast the following day. Make a breakfast parfait with the leftover marinated berries, granola, and lemon yogurt. YUM!

Berries

1 cup fresh blueberries

1 cup fresh strawberries, diced small

1 Tbsp. Balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp. brown sugar

Combine above ingredients and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

As a mom, I want my kids to get good sources of calcium for strong bones and teeth so yogurt is a daily delight in our house. It’s filled with protein, calcium, and some have live and active cultures for their tiny bellies. So many different choices of yogurt exist at the grocery store. Colorful packaging or cartoon characters draw you in, but are you looking at the labels? Do you know which ones may be better for your kids?

Even if the packaging says “No High Fructose Corn Syrup, No Artificial Colors or Flavors, Good Source of Calcium & Vitamin D”, it’s important to go deeper into the label. Some standard consistencies you see in kids yogurt are: most have sugar listed as the second or third ingredient (it may be anywhere from 1 3/4 teaspoon to 4 teaspoons of sugar per serving), calories fall between 60 to 110 calories per serving, and they have 0.5 to 2 grams of fat per serving. My analysis does not include baby or toddler yogurts. I will leave that for another post.

Below are my favorite kid picks. My criteria in picking these yogurts were sugar content, % Daily Values for Calcium and Vitamin D, quality of ingredients, and if the product contained live and active cultures. I included protein content so you can see the difference. Greek yogurt has the most with 8 grams of protein and YoKids Low Fat 6 pack has 5 grams of protein per serving. All the others contain 2 grams of protein per serving.

Lactose intolerance is something near and dear to my small intestine. My milk guzzling days have come to an end. Sadly, yogurt doesn’t settle with me either.

Lactose intolerance is an issue that doesn’t just affect me, it affects millions in the U.S. of all ages. Lactose intolerance is also known as a lactase enzyme deficiency or inability to digest lactose (milk sugar) found in dairy products. Severity differs per individual. Symptoms can include gas, bloating, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and nausea after consuming dairy products within a 30 minute to 2 hour time frame. This is not to be confused with having a milk allergy.

Can you still consume dairy with lactose intolerance? Yes, some can in small amounts or by using lactose free milk products. Some people can tolerate yogurt, kefir, and aged cheeses without issue. However, many people may not be able to tolerate any dairy. Many non dairy products are also more widely available for people with lactose intolerance including soy, rice, and almond products.

Many supermarkets have dietitians with resources for people with lactose intolerance. Wegmans has an online lactose free resource list for consumers to download. Check with your local supermarket to see if they have a Registered Dietitian you can talk to or have a resource list available for consumers.

Do you have a favorite lactose free product that isn’t listed? Let me know.

Lactose Free Milk Products

Lactaid Milks

Lactaid Low Fat Cottage Cheese

Lactaid Yogurts

Yoplait Lactose Free Yogurt

Lactaid Ice Cream

Kozy Shack Lactose Free Puddings

Breyer’s Lactose Free Ice Cream

Organic Valley Lactose Free Milk

Green Valley Organics Lactose Free Yogurt, Kefir, and Sour Cream : Found at Whole Foods and The Fresh Market Nationwide. Check their website for more locations.

Cabot Cheeses

Non Dairy Products

Soy Milks

Soy Yogurts

Non Dairy cheeses: Daiya cheeses

Soy, rice, almond based frozen desserts

Almond milk

Almond yogurts: Amande yogurt, Almond Dream yogurt

Rice Dream

Note: I am not endorsing any of the above products nor I am being paid to mention them. These are my own thoughts & experiences.

Remember how your mom always told you to eat your veggies? Well, she was right. The USDA and the First Lady announced a big change to the American diet Thursday. MyPlate was unveiled pushing a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, and lean protein. How is this different from the Food Guide Pyramid? If the plate was a pyramid, fruits and vegetables would be on the bottom, rather than grains. MyPlate encourages half your plate to be fruits and vegetables and the other half of your plate split between whole grains and protein. These recommendations come with a side dish of dairy, whether it be milk, cheese, yogurt, or milk replacement.

So what does this mean for your grocery cart? It means you should be spending more time in your produce department. It means you have a great opportunity to teach your kids about new fruits and vegetables. It is also a great way to learn more about whole grains and incorporating new ones. It means you start paying attention to what kinds of dairy products you are buying. Fruits and veggies and dairy products are a little easier to shop for but the whole grain part of it can get confusing. Here are a few tips to help you fill up your cart with the new MyPlate method.

1. Color your cart with fresh produce. Plan your grocery list for the week to include a fruit with breakfast and a fruit and a vegetable at lunch and dinner. There are so many fruits and vegetables to choose from so keep it fresh by trying new things.

2. Utilize frozen and canned vegetables and fruits. Frozen and canned veggies are great to use when in a pinch. Choose canned fruit packed in 100% juice.

3. Try a new grain each week. Quinoa, barley, long grain rice, millet, oats and others are whole grains. It is important to note high fiber and whole grains are not always the same thing. You need 25-35 grams of fiber a day and 48 grams or more of whole grains.

5. Be wary of products that have “made with whole grains, seven grain, cracked wheat, stoneground, multigrain” label. Check the ingredient list. Sometimes minimal whole grains are used in these products.

6. Choose fat-free or low-fat dairy products. Milk, yogurt, cheese, puddings, or milk based desserts are available in low-fat or fat-free versions. Children under 2 are encouraged to use the full fat products unless otherwise specified by their doctor. People with milk allergies or lactose intolerance can seek soy, almond or rice varieties or low-fat lactose free products.

7. Choose leaner cuts of meat and poultry.

8. Include 8 ounces of cooked seafood a week. Exempted from this suggestion are vegetarians, young children, and those with seafood allergies.

Nutrition guidance systems have made their debuts in grocery stores across the country. From NuVal to Nutrition Tags, customers are getting help making healthier choices. While this is music to this dietitian’s ears, what does it all mean for you, the customer? What guidelines are these programs following? How do they stack up?

Right now, around ten or more nutrition guidance systems are in chains around the country. Some take a color coded approach using FDA guidelines, while others use more complicated numerical systems. What determines these systems? Does the FDA regulate them? A universal system does not exist at this time. Some are up for licensing but each system is unique. The FDA currently does not regulate these systems.

Do these nutrition guidance systems make a difference to you? According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, they do. Two studies have recently been published showing shoppers are making better choices with these systems.

How do these systems stack up? Whether stars, numbers, or color coded tags, getting people to eat better is the end goal. I do have some personal perspective, seeing that I implemented a healthy eating tag system years ago. From a retail perspective, store implementation is key. You want the tags to be easy to install with no extra work involved. I like Guiding Stars, NuVal, Nutrition Guide, and Nutritional Tags for this. Some of the others may be intergrated as well. Other features I like are Guiding Stars iPhone app and online Food Finder. My only potential concern with some of these systems is too much of a good thing is too much. Keeping it simple is the key to success with customers. I also have concerns with using “natural” in any of the systems. If it’s labeled, people may start to assume it’s healthy.

Here is the 411 on the most popular ones around. See if your supermarket is listed.